Item: Avalokiteshvara (Bodhisattva & Buddhist Deity) - Khasarpani (Sky Flier)

Avalokiteshvara, Khasarpani(a) Lokanata (Lord of the World): Lokanata (Lokanatha) is an alternate name for Lokeshvara.

Lokanata is peaceful in appearance with one face and two hands. The two hands are held at the heart in a Dharma teaching gesture. Adorned with a crown, jewelry, heavenly garments, he sits with the right leg pendant and the left drawn up atop a double lotus seat. Two flower blossoms on long stems rise on both sides and open above the shoulders. A small image of Amitabha Buddha can be seen directly above accompanied by the other symbolic Buddhas of the Tantric literature: Vairochana and Ratnasambhava on the proper right side. Akshobhya and Amoghasiddhi are on the proper left side of Lokeshvara. This form of Lokeshvara does not have a deerskin over the proper left shoulder.

At the proper right side are two small figures one above the other. The first is Tara with the right hand over the heart. The second figure immediately below is the male deity Manidharin. On the left side the male figure of Hayagriva with a slightly portly appearance. Below that is Bhrikuti with four arms and seated in a relaxed posture with the right leg pendant.

Below the double lotus seat and under the left thoigh of Lokanata there are the two small figures of Yellow Jambhala and Yellow Vsudhara. They are both wealth deities and often paired together.

Made famous in the Sutras as a bodhisattva, an aspirant to enlightenment, in the Vajrayana system of Northern Buddhism - in the Tantra texts - he is acknowledged as a fully enlightened Buddha manifesting in a vast array of meditational forms for the benefit of all living beings. The most common Sanskrit names for the deity in general and those found in Vajrayana Buddhism are Lokeshvara, Avalokita, Avalokiteshvara, Lokanata and Mahakarunika. After that there are scores of names for specific forms of Lokeshvara - peaceful, wrathful and in-between. The Sanskrit word 'arya' meaning 'noble' or 'noble one' is often used at the beginning of the name for each of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas as well as notables such as Tara.

Common Names: Sanskrit, Tibetan & English
- Avalokita, Chenrezi, All-seeing One
- Avalokiteshvara, Chenrezi Wangchug, All-seeing Universal Lord of the World
- Khasarpani, pemo chen, Lotus Holder
- Lokeshvara, Jigten Wangchug, Universal Lord of the World
- Lokanata, Jigten Gonpo, Lord of the World
- Mahakarunika, tugje Chenpo, Great Compassion
- Padmapani, pemo chan, Lotus Holder
- Others...

Specific Names for Particular Iconographic Forms:
- Shadakshara, yi ge drug pa, Six Syllable One (Karandavyuha Sutra)
- Simhanda, senge dra, Lion's Roar
- Others...

There are Two Main Topics, or Divisions, for the iconographic subject of Avalokiteshvara:
- Non-iconic (narrative based): a student of the Buddha from Mahayana literature
- Iconic (meditational deity): based on the Tantra (Vajrayana) literature

Narrative based depictions of Lokeshvara can be as dynamic and fluid in form as the artist wishes the figure to be. It is up to the artist to interpret the narrative literature. The meditational forms of the deity are static, almost rigid, and highly symbolic with very little change or deviation from the mind or wishes of the artist.

The early photo below was published by Jogendranath Gupta, Bikrampurer Itihasa, Dhaka, 1909, plate facing p. 200.

Jeff Watt 3-2017